


Needless to Say

by kenzieann27



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Beverly Marsh is a Good Friend, Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh Are Best Friends, Himbo Bill Denbrough, Mentioned Richie Tozier, Mentioned Stanley Uris, Multi, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27919198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzieann27/pseuds/kenzieann27
Summary: Eddie believed this prom was going to go exactly how he imagined it would be, with him alone on the bleachers watching the crowd of teenagers he really couldn't care less about. That is until one Beverly Marsh decides to drag him right into the middle of it.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Original Female Character(s), Bill Denbrough/Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon/Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	Needless to Say

**Author's Note:**

> I thought this would be interesting to write since I don't see a lot of fics about Beverly and Eddie, so enjoy!

Eddie knew what this night was supposed to be, what it was going to be for every couple in this room that couldn't get their hands off each other, but he didn't realize just how _hard_ it was to just get through it. The music was too loud, the people were too sweaty, the room was too hot, the entire thing was completely overrated.

The only reason Eddie bothered to show up at all was to be able to get those handfuls of glances at that beanpole boy with those beautiful blue eyes as he chatted with Ben at the punch table. The boy that nobody saw the way Eddie saw him, the boy that seemed to move through the world like a ghost, becoming known only when he gathered enough courage to do so. The thing about Bill, though, was that he never lacked the courage to do anything; he simply didn't always know when to use it.

"You're staring again," a sweet voice commented beside him.

"Am I being too obvious?"

"Bill's such an idiot, really," Beverly laughed. "I wouldn't worry about him too much. He's sweet in that way, he's always just off in his own little world, but sometimes you wish he'd just notice you, right?"

"Oh, no, no," Eddie stammered, shaking his head. "I- I think I'd just die if he knew. I'm perfectly fine with him being him and me just being me."

Beverly hummed in response, smiling as he smoothed out a wrinkle in her green, lacy dress. "Are you having a nice time?"

"Ask me again tomorrow," Eddie replied flatly, rolling his eyes as he stared out at the crowd in front of them as they remained in their seats in the bleachers. "Prom is just a shitty thing, anyway. Just a bunch of horny teenagers dancing around in the gym for a few hours until they can get out of here to do what they actually want to do. Why even dress up for it? I don't get it."

"It's teenagers having _fun_ , Eds," Beverly laughed, poking Eddie's arm as she tried her best to put on a stern face. "You should be out there having fun, too. Even if you look like an idiot doing it- it's the last thing we get to do together before graduation. Then everyone's going away and we'll never be together like this again."

"Oh, yeah, like I really care about what Greta Bowie will be getting up to after this." Shaking his head as he responded, Eddie couldn't help but scan the crowd for that familiar mass of blonde hair (or, more helpfully, that high-pitched squeal) that ultimately eluded him that night. "She'll just be like every other asshole in this town. They only think we're losers because we're the ones that will get out of here and actually do things with our lives when they're stuck here working as cops and teachers and part-time cashiers at their dad's pharmacy."

"And what will you be doing, Mr. Cynical?"

"I'll be doing whatever I want to do," Eddie replied quickly, turning to look at Beverly. "I'll be in New York, I'll be a doctor. I'll be married and, on the weekdays, in the process of adopting a beautiful child while, on the weekends, my husband and I will be taking nice long drives upstate where we'll never get lost because I am a human compass and I always know where I'm going, I always know what I'm doing, and I always know what I want."

Nodding, Beverly looked back at the crowd, sighing as a slower song began playing over the speakers. "I don't blame them, really. Not everyone knows that stuff like you do- a lot of people are lost. Or, y'know, maybe you're not all as high and mighty as you think you are. Stan's just as big of a loser as we are and he doesn't know what he wants to do yet, he's too interested in too many things. Since he doesn't know, Stan's not going to do anything. That doesn't make him one of them, I think. Knowing that stuff doesn't make you any better than him or any of them." Beverly reasoned, smiling as Ben and Bill walked up to the bleachers, handing her a small cup of fruit punch.

"W-what's this about S-S-Stan?" Bill asked as he sat down next to Eddie.

"Stan's a loser," Eddie said, smiling as Ben chuckled at his comment. "And we're allowed to make fun of him since he couldn't be bothered to show up tonight."

Beverly rolled her eyes as she stood up, kicking off her heels that were only a little too tight. "Eddie, you know that's not very…" Beverly trailed off as her eyes lit up at the recognition of the new song that came on. "Oh, _finally_! They _finally_ play a decent song just as I was about to go out and smoke."

Ben smiled at Beverly's conflict of interests, looking up at her with a bit of hope in their eyes that she would ask one of them to dance. Eddie, of course, simply continued to look at the crowd as though he were in the middle of history class.

"Eddie, c'mon," she said, waving over the smaller teen as she jumped down the steps of the bleachers until she stood solidly on the gym floor. "You're going to have fun tonight, even if it kills you."

Eddie sighed as he stood up, buttoning his suit jacket as he joined her on the floor, where she took his hand and led him through the crowd.

"If this doesn't get him to notice you, I don't know what will," Beverly said softly in his ear. "Nothing a bit of good old-fashioned jealousy won't fix."

"You're insane," Eddie replied, laughing as he glanced back at Bill. "If anything, he's jealous that he's not the one out here dancing with _you_."

"In case you two have forgotten, I am already in a perfectly happy relationship," Beverly commented as she looked back at Eddie, letting go of his hand as they settled into a spot near the center of the crowd. "I just didn't want to drag Mike to this thing when I knew he'd just… they wouldn't leave him alone. He is coming to pick me up pretty soon, actually, and we're going to some crappy diner and eat some crappy pancakes. 'Cause, you know, the quality of the pancake really only goes down once you hit midnight. I just wanted to have one more dance since I feel like it's something you deserve to have. "

"I don't even- what are you doing?" Eddie asked, confused by the way Beverly placed her hands on his shoulders. "This isn't a slow song."

"I'm having fun," she replied sweetly, though continued when she realized her answer wouldn't be enough for the frustrated boy in front of her. "Well, why can't it be a slow song? It's pretty romantic, if you ask me."

"'Take on Me' is not a romantic song," Eddie said, shaking his head but following her lead nonetheless. "We're supposed to be dancing like- like everyone else is. Flailing around like idiots. Plus, I doubt it would be a romantic song when it comes to _us_ , Bev."

"I don't want to be like everyone else. I'm fine just the way I am."

Eddie sighed in response, knowing that she wasn't going to give up on whatever thing she was trying to do here. Most days, he admired those things in Beverly, her stubbornness and her ability to always be herself. It was a privilege that Eddie supposed she knew she had and took advantage of in every possible way.

"People are staring," Eddie said softly, watching as Beverly simply shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes on him. "Why are we doing this?"

"I don't care if they stare, Eds. They're just assholes, right?"

Scoffing, Eddie shook his head. "Of course, it doesn't matter when they stare at _you_. Everyone knows that you're the most beautiful girl in the school, Bev. When they stare at you, it's a compliment. When they stare at me, it's a death sentence."

"I think you're being a little overdramatic there, Eddie," Beverly replied, a small smile growing on her face as she hummed along to the music.

"I want these guys to stare at me the way they stare at you, y'know, I- I want to be able to be stupid and pretend for one minute that I'm normal and that I don't have to wait forever just so that guys will be able to look at me with anything other than hate in their eyes. They're staring at us right now and all they see is the beautiful Beverly Marsh dancing with some loser queer kid. That's all I am to them, I'm just a-"

"Eddie," Beverly interrupted, squeezing his shoulder softly. "No one thinks that of you, okay? No one that actually matters will ever think those things about you."

"Why else do you think Richie and Stan aren't here?" he asked, shaking his head as he took a shaky breath. "They're not here because they know what would happen if they did come here. Instead, they're over at Stan's house doing their own thing just as a giant fuck you to all of this."

Nodding her head, Beverly smiled as she noticed Eddie mouthing the words of the song. "Why aren't you with them, then? To be honest, if I knew they were going to have a way better version of this, I would've gone over there, too."

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Eddie grimaced as he thought, causing Beverly to chuckle softly. "It was Richie that told me about it, so I'm sure you can imagine what else he tried talking to me about."

"He didn't."

"He said, and I quote," he paused, trying to come up with the best imitation of Richie Tozier's voice that he could muster up. "'Stan and I will be going at it like rabbits.'"

"To be fair, Richie says that kind of shit all the time. I would not be surprised if he was using that as a defense mechanism for still being a virgin despite being with Stan for, what, three years?" Beverly struggled to ask through her laughter. "Also, how the fuck did he convince Stan to do that at his house? That whole thing screams Tozier territory."

"Richie said it was actually Stan's idea. He's going through his, you know, rebellious phase. Which, to Stanley Uris, is just doing whatever pisses his dad off," Eddie replied, grimacing at the thought of what exactly was going on at the Uris house. "And, for the record, I _absolutely_ know that Richie isn't a virgin because he loves talking to me about that shit no matter how many times I tell him how disgusting it is. Did you know that Stan has seventeen freckles on his back? Or that he really likes getting his hair pulled? Or that Stan gave Richie a black eye last week because he kicked Richie in the face because Richie did something that I will never fucking repeat? Well, I do, since Richie fucking describes _everything_ in excruciating detail."

"At least it's pretty obvious you'd never have to deal with that with Bill. He looks more vanilla than, you know, actual vanilla. Maybe that's why Richie is talking to _you_ about it, like, he knows you're into the exact opposite."

"Oh, please. Richie is the last person I would want to know about this. He's like a human newspaper, like… once he knows something, _everyone_ knows it," he shook his head. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"No, no," Beverly chuckled. "But Stan does."

"You do realize that means Richie knows, right?" Eddie huffed in frustration, muttering nonsense to himself under his breath. "God, that _is_ why he fucking talks to me about him and Stan all the time."

"Hey, props to him for being so open about it," Beverly smiled as she shook her head. Though she always enjoyed Eddie's company, she did sometimes hope that he would stop worrying so much and simply enjoy the moment. This dance, apparently, wasn't going to be a moment. "I'm surprised you haven't strangled him yet, to be honest."

"I would, but that's probably something he enjoys," Eddie groaned. "I'm lucky Stan is so quiet. I really don't want to hear what he would have to say about Richie."

"Richie probably says that stuff just to rile you up, Eds. Even if sex isn't your thing, like, personally, I feel like it's- like, you want to be a _doctor_. You have to be willing to at least listen to this stuff without getting all uncomfortable."

"I'm fine hearing about it, trust me," Eddie said flatly, glaring past Beverly towards Bill, who was still sitting in the bleachers with a bored expression on his face. "I just don't want to hear it from my friends. Not when it feels like they're just- I'm happy for them, okay? There are three gay kids in this town, so this was bound to happen, and I was never attracted to either of them, so it's my fault for not really preparing myself ahead of time for it. I want to be excited for them, but it's hard when they talk to me about all that stuff that I'm scared I'll never understand."

"I-" Beverly started, stopping when she realized the song had ended and Eddie took a step back from her. From being friends with them, Beverly had always somewhat known that she was the mother of the group- not just because she was the only girl in the group, no, but simply because she noticed things about those boys that she swore they never noticed about each other. The way Bill would wrinkle his nose when he got frustrated, the way Mike would always offer to help the others on school projects despite not really understanding them, the way Eddie would avoid doing things he wanted to do simply because he didn't believe he deserved to do them at all.

Glancing up at the large clock at the back of the room, she stammered once more before trying to grab Eddie's attention, not wanting him to leave in one of _those_ moods. "Will you walk me out? I didn't realize how late it was, and Mike will be here any minute, so I don't really want to keep him waiting too long."

"Wouldn't Bill be more helpful with that?" Eddie asked, shaking his head in confusion as he started making his way back to the bleachers. "I don't exactly come off as a threat."

"Oh, that's a great idea," Beverly smiled, offering the shorter teen a wink. "You can invite him to come along."

"You're the worst."

The walk outside was, admittedly, just about as awkward as Eddie thought it could be, choosing to put Beverly between Bill and himself, as it was the only way he ever would agree to go at all. Ben had opted to stay inside, as he wanted to dance a bit more with his latest fling, Lauren, despite not being the most graceful dancer (though she believed that was more endearing than anything else).

Eddie wasn't sure what to think of that tension between Ben and Beverly; they were on and off for about a year before deciding to take a more lengthy break that had been going for about two years. They seemed content in their separation from one another as it gave them room to breathe. Before Mike and Beverly became a thing, no one doubted that Ben and Beverly would be back together within a month of their "break," including Ben himself, but it wasn't so clear anymore. They were all happy, and they all supposed that was what mattered in the end,

"Oh my God, you're so ridiculous!" Beverly smiled as she walked up to Mike's truck, wrapping her arms around her sharply-dressed boyfriend. "You look so handsome in a suit."

"Yeah, well, who doesn't like putting on their best to go eat some pancakes?"

"They're s-s-so good for each other," Bill said softly to Eddie, who chuckled in response. "In a really w-weird way, right?"

"They're two dorks," Eddie replied, crossing his arms as Mike and Beverly continued to talk. "Dorks are very compatible, like Stan and Richie. The universe was practically begging for those two to get together."

"I g-guess that m-m-makes sense," Bill shrugged. "Would you say that I'm a d-dork?"

"Oh, I-" Eddie started, growing confused as he watched Mike and Beverly take a handful of steps away from the truck. "What are you guys doing?"

"Uh, dancing? We love this song, and, you know, it's prom. I thought I'd give her at least one dance," Mike replied, turning back to a giggling Beverly with a warm smile on his somewhat tired face.

"You can barely hear the music. You can't dance if there's no music."

"Who s-s-says that?" Bill asked, taking a breath before grabbing Eddie's arm and pulling him out towards Mike and Beverly.

"I- what the fuck are you doing?" Eddie asked, startled by the sudden movement that was forced upon him by the person he least expected it from. "Bill, stop- what the fuck?"

"I want t-to dance," he replied, glancing around before stopping and mimicking Mike and Beverly's positions, placing his hands on Eddie's hips.

"You- you're insane."

"I'm just a d-d-dork, that's all," Bill smiled. "Com-compatible dorks, right?"

"You're drunk or something," Eddie replied softly. "You don't want to dance with me."

"I w-want to dance with you, Eddie, and I'm n-n-not drunk," Bill chuckled. "Is that okay?"

Eddie remained silent on the matter, not sure of how to respond. If he said yes, they would continue to dance, with Eddie's arms wrapping themselves around Bill's shoulders, a closeness he never thought he'd be able to achieve. They would dance, he would laugh nervously to release some of the tension building up in his body. Bill would smile, Eddie would melt, scoffing that they were dancing to a stupid, cheesy _love song_ , and Bill would shrug, saying he liked the song. Unable to do anything else, Eddie would kiss him, a quick kiss that he immediately regretted but simply _had_ to do. He had to do it because Bill wasn't stupid, he was going to find out because of that way Eddie was looking at him, and Eddie had to do it before Bill really found out and hated him. So he would kiss him, he would pull away, he would apologize. And it wouldn't matter what Mike and Beverly would say, because in that moment, they wouldn't be there at all. No one would be there, just them, because it was their moment. It was… it was… no, it _would_ be.

If he said no, Bill would pull away. He would apologize, and he would leave Eddie, leave him there doubting it all. Mike and Beverly would stop, they would console Eddie in his unfamiliar feelings before leaving, too. Eddie would get in his car, sighing, smacking his hands angrily against the steering wheel and the sounds of broken sobs would be the only thing connecting him to the world, the world that had left him.

It was an impossible choice, really: melting the world away or having the world leave you behind.

In their silence, Eddie smiled, placing his hands gently on Bill's shoulders. And, before closing that gap that he hated was there, Bill had smiled, too.

**Author's Note:**

> still loving you is a perfectly acceptable song to slow dance to in a parking lot at your senior prom
> 
> come yell at me on tumblr @kenzie-ann27


End file.
